TORONTO– There was really no doubt about the identity of the teammates, captain and alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Auston Matthews And Morgane Rielly would take with his first pick in the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Draft on Thursday.
And it wasn’t going to be Mitchell Marner.
So with their first draft pick, they opted for another Maple Leafs teammate. William Nylander.
“I think as far as the pick, the draft order, it was more about keeping Mitch waiting than trying to take Willy first,” Rielly joked.
When the draft came down to Team Matthews, both Maple Leafs considered their options, but ultimately opted for self-preservation.
“Come here,” celebrity captain Justin Bieber said, motioning for Marner to join the group.
That means all four Maple Leafs will play together when they compete for the 2024 Honda (USA)/Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS).
“Mitch threatened us that if we didn’t take him, he would do something… bad,” Matthews said. “There was a lot of discussion about what we should do with that second pick, but we love Mitchy, so we didn’t want to make him sweat too much and wait until the end. So we had to integrate him into our team.
It seems likely that Team Matthews will have a clear on-ice advantage against Team Hughes in Game 2 on Saturday, with the winners of each semifinal facing off for a $1 million prize.
“It might be a little nerve-wracking,” Matthews said. “I definitely don’t want to go out and embarrass you. This should be fun. I think it will also be competitive, which I think is the best scenario for the fans and for the players as well.
The Maple Leafs quartet is their team’s top four in scoring, with Nylander leading them with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists), Matthews with 58 points (40 goals, 18 assists), Marner with 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists). ). assists) and Rielly with 40 points (seven goals, 33 assists).
“It was cool,” Matthews said. “I think our strategy was pretty simple. We stuck to it. I think it was a cool and fun concept to do the draft style again, mixing up teams, divisions, conferences and stuff like that.
Of course, they didn’t mix things up too much.
In addition to their two teammates, Matthews opted for another good friend in Clayton Kelleradvancing the Arizona Coyotes to the fourth round.
“‘Kells’ is an incredible player,” Matthews said. “I spend a lot of time with him in the summer. We like to go out and will skate and train together. During the summer we always try to play together and have good chemistry. I really wanted him to be part of the team. It’s really slippery. He is extremely talented. He shoots very well, but he’s also an elite playmaker. He’s having an excellent season.
“It’s fun to do things like that. It’s fun to be among friends in this kind of context.
TEAM MATTHEWS ROSTER
Auston Matthews, TOR
Morgan Rielly, TOR
William Nylander, TOR
Mitch Marner, TOR
Jake OettingerDAL
Clayton Keller
Matthew BarzalJNI
Igor Shesterkinnew York
Philippe ForsbergNSH
Alex DeBrincatDET
Vincent Trochequenew York
